A liberal dose of news, national and local politics, commentary, opinions and common sense conversation…

On the eve of a high-profile trip to Jordan to meet Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq, President Bush on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that Iraq has descended into civil war, blamed Al Qaeda for the latest wave of sectarian violence and vowed not to withdraw troops “until the mission is complete.”

While BushCo sits around twidling thumbs over what to do, it seems the Pentagon is now considering moving troops trom al-Anbar Province to Baghdad…

There are now 30,000 U.S. troops in al-Anbar, mainly Marines, braving some of the fiercest fighting in Iraq. At least 1,055 Americans have been killed in this region, making al-Anbar the deadliest province for American troops.

And Editor & Publisher reported yesterday that “In the wake of the highly-publicized NBC and MSNBC decision to start referring to the conflict in Iraq as a “civil war,” other media outlets, which have long used phrases such as “sectarian violence,” are re-considering their language in this regard.”

“After consulting with our reporters in the field and the editors who directly oversee this coverage, we have agreed that Times correspondents may describe the conflict in Iraq as a civil war when they and their editors believe it is appropriate,” Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, revealed in a statement. “It’s hard to argue that this war does not fit the generally accepted definition of civil war.

The WaPo can’t bring themselves to report the truth…

The Washington Post, however, has made no such announcement. Leonard Downie, Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post, told E&P’s Joe Strupp: “We just describe what goes on everyday. We don’t have a policy about it. We are not making judgments one way or another. The language in the stories is very precise when dealing with it. At various times people say it is ‘close to a civil war,’ but we don’t have a policy about it.”

Finally, the N.Y. Times reports…

A classified memorandum by President Bush’s national security adviser expressed serious doubts about whether Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had the capacity to control the sectarian violence in Iraq and recommended that the United States take new steps to strengthen the Iraqi leader’s position.

The Nov. 8 memo was prepared for Mr. Bush and his top deputies by Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser, and senior aides on the staff of the National Security Council after a trip by Mr. Hadley to Baghdad.

The memo suggests that if Mr. Maliki fails to carry out a series of specified steps, it may ultimately be necessary to press him to reconfigure his parliamentary bloc, a step the United States could support by providing “monetary support to moderate groups,” and by sending thousands of additional American troops to Baghdad to make up for what the document suggests is a current shortage of Iraqi forces. (Text of the Memo)

President Bush, again just doesn’t have a clue!! How can he be so dense not to see that Iraq is in the midst of a civil war? In fact, I would say that the country’s present condition more closely resembles anarchy! The suffering that these people are enduring is beyond comprehension!! Now they are being dragged out of mosques, doused with gasoline, and then set on fire to die a horrible death.
President Bush, or the “decider” as he has dubbed himself, has absolutely no plan but to “stay the course”. He says our troops will not leave until “victory” is attained.
I wonder what his version of victory will resemble. It certainly will not be a democratic Iraq cloned in our image.
At least his father had the sense NOT to invade Iraq once the objective of liberating Kuwait had been achieved. Our country’t pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, based on false intelligence, has succeeded in destablizing the entire mid-east. It is now a full scale breeding ground for terriorists. Also, by overthrowing Sadam, we did Iran a huge favor. Now they are free to pursue whatever they want, as we have ridded them of their chief adversary.
Since “The Decider” told us that he based his invasion of Iraq on a message from God, I think it’s past time for him to place to a second call!!